Buster Posey listed in tonight’s lineup, plus more on playoff start times

A day after back spasms forced him from the game, Buster Posey is listed in tonight’s lineup playing first base. I say “listed” because I assume manager Bruce Bochy will keep checking on him throughout the afternoon to see if he is OK.

Now, on to the playoff start times.

I was told today that there’s a chance that TBS and Major League Baseball will not announce times Saturday and Sunday until Friday, after all potential tiebreaking and wild-card knockout games are played and all the matchups are set. That means people coming into the City for Games 1 and 2 of the Giants’ Division Series wouldn’t know when they have to fight traffic from Fleet Week, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the 49ers game, the yacht races, and Cal and Stanford home games and everything else until the last minute.

I rarely crusade, but I’m going to here.

I understand the networks want to maximize ratings, and that’s their right. They pay a ton of money to broadcast these games, and if they want to ensure the Yankees are on prime time, so be it. But they have to think about the fans going to the games.

I understand why they would wait until Friday to announce Sunday’s start times. All eight remaining playoff teams will meet in four games and there will be a lot of geographical and time-zone issues to consider beyond the whole ratings question.

But there is no reason TBS and MLB can’t announce Saturday’s start times right now.

There are only two games Saturday an we know the Giants and Tigers are going to host them. We also know the two time slots currently listed for the games are 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PDT. I’m told that could change, but if it doesn’t, we know MLB is not going to have a first pitch in Detroit at 9:30 p.m. Michigan time. There is one extenuating factor. I’m told the network wants to ensure that its baseball playoff coverage does not butt up against college football games in a way that people in some areas would have to choose one or the other.

But that has to be weighed against the need for fans in San Francisco and Detroit to know when they need to come into their respective cities, especially San Francisco, where so much is going on.

Let’s hope TBS and MLB realize this and announce Saturday’s start times no later than Wednesday.

As for Sunday, nothing I’ve heard contradicts the notion that the Giants will play at night if they’re the only West Coast team hosting a game, even if that means a very late start time on the East Coast for either the Nats or Reds. Remember, though, if the A’s are a wild card win the AL West they could host a game Sunday, too.